The Ties of Friendship
by DarkShadowFlame
Summary: Yugi knew when he gave Rebecca the Ties of Friendship card that it was special. But he didn’t know that in seven years, it would bring the two of them together in a whole new way. [YugiRebecca, reduced age difference]
1. Chapter 1

The Ties of Friendship ****

Summary: Yugi knew when he gave Rebecca the Ties of Friendship card that it was special. But he didn't know that in seven years, it would bring the two of them together in a whole new way. [Yugi(22)/Rebecca(19)]

****

Disclaimer: ::cries:: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh. If I did, I would build a "Kaiba-Land" and people could become professional duelists for a living!

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Author's Notes: Rebecca's age is kind of iffy. I think that she says she's eight years old when she duels Yugi, but for this… no. For purposes of this story, I'm making her 12 when Yugi was 15, and forget reality! It's no fun anyway. ^_^ So at the time the story takes place, she's 19 and Yugi is 22. I think that's pretty reasonable.

I've heard Rebecca comes back into the show after her duel with Yugi for the Blue-Eyes, but unfortunately KidsWB hasn't aired that far. So bear in mind that some aspects of this might not be entirely accurate.

*~*~*

Rebecca held the cell phone patiently at her ear until her grandfather picked up. "Arthur Hawkins."

"Hi, Grandpa!"

"Rebecca! Where are you?"

"I'm at the airport."

"Still? You mean the plane hasn't left for Domino yet?"

"Actually, I'm at the airport _in_ Domino. I caught an earlier flight than I intended."

"Oh! I'm glad to know that you're here safely, but I hadn't expected you so soon. I had plans for a luncheon with Solomon…"

"Don't change anything for me, Grandpa!" Rebecca assured him, switching her small knapsack from one shoulder to the other. "My bags didn't make it onto the plane with me; I have to come back here in 4 hours anyway. So I'll just head to your place after that."

"Okay…" her grandfather said hesitantly. "Well, I'll just leave a key for you under the doormat in case you don't want to go out for lunch."

"Thanks," she said agreeably. "I suppose I'll see you in about four hours, then, right Grandpa?"

"All right, Rebecca," the professor said fondly. "I'm so glad you're coming to stay with me. I'm very much enjoying my retirement here, you know. It's especially nice to have struck up my old friendship with Solomon Moto."

"Mmmm…" Rebecca agreed. "Friendships that last a long time are the best kind."

"Well, I must be off," Arthur continued. "Would you like to go out tonight to eat? Or would you rather stay in?"

"Actually," she said hesitantly, "I'd like to eat at home with you, if that's okay."

"Wonderful! I'll cook, just like I would when you were a child! Ah, the fond memories…"

Rebecca winced as she recalled some of the less 'fond' childhood memories. She'd been a very eccentric kid. "Right," she said with a giggle. "See you soon, Grandpa. Love you."

"I love you too, Rebecca," her grandfather said with warmth. "I'll see you shortly."

"Bye!" she said cheerfully as she hung up the cellular phone. She unbuckled her knapsack and shoved the phone in; and in doing so, her fingers brushed a soft, worn brown material. Yes, she still had her Teddy. What could she say; she'd formed an emotional attachment to her 'ferocious' bear. Her ferocious 'talking' bear.

She swung the pack up and headed for the exit. On her way out the sliding door, she nearly collided with a boy about her age. "Oh, I'm sorry!" she exclaimed.

"Oh, that's all right," the boy said, giving her an appreciative glance. "In a hurry?" He easily stepped back outside with her, and leaned against the wall, making it obvious that he didn't plan to go anywhere.

Rebecca silently groaned. Oh, the pains of having developed a large chest. When she'd been in Domino City before, she'd been in really dorky clothes, with a dorky hairstyle, and holding a dorky teddy bear (Sorry, Mr Teddy). Maybe she should try going with that now. She'd hit puberty, and had become a curvy young woman, and her hair let down made her look rather pretty. And her clothes now resembled most of the other girls around the city, which unfortunately made her the object of a lot of wolf-whistles.

She made a show of leaning over to check the clock on the wall. "Actually, I am in kind of a hurry," she said apologetically. "I'd better run quickly. Bye now!" Before the boy could protest, she sped off into town.

*~*~*

Things hadn't changed much, she observed with a sense of happiness. She was glad to be back, this had been an awfully pretty city.

She and her grandfather had traveled a lot, but about a month ago he'd retired here. He'd been trying to persuade her to move in with him, and for a while she'd resisted. There had been a large tournament in New York City at the time. But that was over, she'd won, and used part of the prize money to pay for her flight over to Domino City.

She debated ducking into a fast-food restaurant, but decided she wasn't hungry enough. She strolled casually down the streets, wondering how many duelists were in Domino.

It turned out that there were quite a lot. She had her dueling deck in a slot in her belt, but her disk was with her luggage, a fact she regretted as she noticed duelists looking for a challenge.

And then she turned the corner and saw it. How could she ever forget that hair? Despite the fact that Yugi was still short (she guessed he probably wasn't much more than an inch taller than she was), his vivid tri-colored hair made him stand out in a crowd like no one else.

She hesitated, wanting to go up to him but feeling strangely unsure of herself. She glanced around, and saw that his friends were with him- Joey, Tristan, Téa, and a white-haired boy she hadn't seen before.

She stalled a few more minutes, then gave herself a mental shake. Since when had she been afraid of anything? Moving purposefully, she stepped up to the five of them.

*~*~*

Joey shoved Tristan in the side, causing him to nearly drop the three hot-dogs balanced precariously in his hands. "Watch it, Wheeler!" Tristan said indignantly.

"You watch it!" Joey said, through a mouthful of hamburger. Téa looked at the two of them and sighed, wondering why they hadn't grown up after seven years of being friends. But she wouldn't trade them for the world…

"Yugi?" 

Joey looked up to see an extremely pretty blonde girl standing there, nervously looking at his friend. He groaned softly. Why did Yugi always get recognized? Just because he was the King of Games! Joey wasn't a bad duelist, either, but no chicks came up to _him_ when he was cruising the streets!

"Oh- yes?" Yugi asked, blushing a little. This wasn't entirely unusual. Yugi never felt comfortable with all the praise he got, and usually hated signing autographs. Joey remembered how embarrassed his friend had been when that one girl asked him to write his name on her forehead. And Yugi always got flushed and stuttering around pretty girls (another reason why Joey thought they should come talk to _him_).

The girl smiled a little, but faint pink was tingeing her cheeks as well. "I guess you don't remember me," she said with a little laugh.

"Oh-" Téa said in surprise. "Oh, I think I do remember you."

"But from where?" Tristan added, narrowing his eyes at the girl as if he thought that squinting would help him identify her. Yugi stared at her as well, his face growing even redder. Joey cast a look at his friend… if he didn't know better, he would say that Yugi was acting even more embarrassed than usual. Hey, was it possible his friend finally had a crush? About time; that guy needed to get out more!

To answer Tristan's question, the girl reached into her belt and pulled out what looked like a Duel Monster card. Blushing again, she held it out to Yugi.

"The Ties of Friendship!" Joey exclaimed.

"Rebecca?" Yugi stuttered, his face officially reaching neon shades as he took the card.

*~*~*

****

Author's Notes: Whoops, is that a bad place to end it? Sorry! ::not-so-sorry laugh:: Anyway, I don't expect this to be too long, but it should be maybe three more chapters. Eh, or maybe I'll surprise myself.

I also don't think I'll get a lot of reviews, since this is such an unconventional pairing. But if you're reading this, please review? ::chibi eyes:: 


	2. Chapter 2

The Ties of Friendship

See previous chapters for important author's notes and disclaimer.

Ryou Bakura is simply called Bakura in this fic, as his yami isn't (directly) in it.

__

//Hey, hikari, what's up?// = Yami talking to Yugi. And, um, don't worry, he won't really talk like that. ^_^() Me and my weird sense of humor…

__

/Buzz off, Yami/ = Yugi talking to Yami. See previous sheepish comment.

Giant thanks to Morning Mist for your advice! Please let me know if this chapter works. ^_^

*~*~* 

"You've sure grown up," Téa said, smiling. "I remember when we last saw you."

Rebecca flushed and laughed a little. "I still have Mr Teddy," she confessed.

Tristan had recovered from his shock fairly quickly, and now laughed. "I remember that little guy. How is he?" However, Joey still stood still, his jaw hanging slightly open. _This_ was Rebecca? That obnoxious brat? Well, time had sure been friendly to her.

Rebecca reached around and patted her knapsack. "Tired," she said, winking at Tristan. "He did a lot of traveling today."

"Sorry, but I don't believe we've met," Bakura interrupted shyly.

"I don't think so," Rebecca said, stretching out her hand. "I'm Rebecca Hawkins."

Bakura took her hand, his brow crinkling slightly. "I'm Ryou Bakura… I think I've heard your name before."

"Was it from us?" Téa asked the white-haired boy. Bakura shook his head negatively.

"No, it was on the news. My yami was watching TV last night; he said he was looking for good duelists. You just won the Big Apple Tournament, didn't you?" he addressed Rebecca. "In New York City?"

Rebecca, though wondering who his 'yami' was, nodded with a small smile.

"That last match was brilliant!" Bakura said excitedly, and Téa and Tristan exchanged smiles. There was nothing like a good duel to bring Bakura out of his shell. "I'd never even heard of some of your opponent's cards."

"I hadn't either!" Rebecca said, her eyes growing bright. "I almost lost that duel when he activated the final trap card. I hadn't realized that it affected _both_ my monsters."

Joey was watching Yugi out of the corner of his eye. His friend was staring at the Ties of Friendship card, his lips moving soundlessly. Joey wondered what Yugi was saying to himself, but was forced to break his out of his reverie. "You might want to give Rebecca the card back," Joey whispered.

Yugi's head snapped up. "Huh? Oh- right…" his voice trailed away sheepishly as everyone turned to look at him. Slowly, he extended his hand to Rebecca.

Even more slowly, she took the card from him once again. "Thanks," she meant to say, but it got caught somewhere in her throat. Honestly, she couldn't figure out why she was acting this way! Or why all of a sudden Yugi Moto looked so cute…

Yugi's thoughts were along the same lines. Sure, he'd noticed pretty girls before – and so what if Rebecca was the prettiest? And of course he'd been attracted to some good duelists before – and so what if she was one of the top-ten world players? And he'd gotten flustered around some girls before, but he couldn't figure out why he was so nervous now.

__

//You know, hikari, I believe you've answered your own question//

/What? What's that supposed to mean?/

A quiet laugh. _//She's talking to you, Yugi. You'd better pay attention//_

Yugi snapped to attention. "Oh, I'm sorry, Rebecca. What did you say?"

"I said thank you," she said, ducking her head as she tucked the Ties of Friendship into her deck belt. "For… everything."

Téa's forehead crinkled a little, but Yugi understood perfectly. "You're welcome. And thank _you_." With a sigh of relief, Yugi realized he'd stopped blushing.

Her mouth opened to ask "for what?", but Rebecca managed to stop herself in time. She swallowed the lump in her throat, and smiled at Yugi.

"I'm _starving_," Joey whined, breaking the mood. Téa shot him an irritated look. Boys. Couldn't he see that Yugi and Rebecca were having a 'moment'?

"Didn't you _just_ finish eating?" Tristan asked, rolling his eyes.

"Yes, I did," Joey replied indignantly. "And you know what that means… dessert!"

Téa rubbed her forehead and grinned at Yugi and Rebecca. "The two of them will never change," she said, grinning.

"Some things never do change," Yugi said softly.

__

//And some things change too much for your liking, right, hikari? Or is the appropriate word 'grow.'//

/Yeah… she's grown too much for my liking. I don't know why, but it makes me feel uncomfortable/

//You know, you need to get out more//

/So says the spirit possessing my jewelry!/

//That was low, Yugi//

Yugi suppressed a grin at the hint of amusement he felt coming from his Yami. "So, ice cream it is!" he chirped. "And that ice cream palace is right down the street."

"Now I know why Joey and Tristan insisted on coming here," Téa teased gently, grinning at the two boys, who were already inching down the road. "Do you want to come with us, Rebecca?"

Yugi felt immediately relieved; he hadn't known how to ask.

"Oh! Um, I'd like to, but I haven't even had lunch," Rebecca confessed, a little surprised. She'd been caught off guard by the request, which was unusual for a duelist like her.

"Lunch, smunch," Joey said, cuffing Tristan in the head when he smirked at Joey's comment. "Ice cream is the way to go!"

"Come with us," Téa urged. "You can't leave me alone with these pigs."

"Not all of us are pigs," Bakura grumbled, and Yugi crossed his arms, mock-scowling.

"I'll come," Rebecca decided, instantly regretting her words. But then again, what else was there for her to do? She needed to kill three hours before returning to the airport.

*~*~*

She took a spoonful of ice cream and pondered the cards in her hand. She and Bakura had decided to play a friendly game of duel monsters as Joey and Tristan competed to finish their giant sundaes. Téa kept score on one of the napkins, and Yugi was sitting between Rebecca and Tristan, trying to avoid both being sprayed by ice cream and pressing too hard against Rebecca's arm.

She had one monster on the field – Giant Soldier of Stone – and two trap cards that wouldn't be helpful yet. Bakura had gotten his Earl of Demise out, and his Headless Knight was also on the field, in defense mode.

In her hand was Shadow Ghoul, and she had eight monsters in the graveyard. She wanted to tribute for it, but wasn't sure if Bakura's one face down card was a trap.

Figuring that she couldn't afford to waste another turn, she went ahead and tributed.

"Hey, I remember that card!" Joey said thickly, though a mouthful of ice cream and fudge.

"How could you forget it?" Téa asked, giggling a little. Yugi simply looked at it in interest.

"Oh, dear," Bakura sighed. "How many monsters are in your graveyard?"

"Eight," Rebecca revealed, glad his card wasn't a trap, or he would have activated it already. "And that makes my attack…"

"Twenty-six hundred," Bakura filled in, sighing a little. "And I lose six hundred life points. How many did I have, Téa?"

"Five hundred," she announced, putting down the pen. "Rebecca wins."

"What was your face-down card?" Rebecca asked immediately. Instead of waiting for Bakura, she reached over the table herself to grab it.

But her hand was stopped mid-air by another. "Hey!" she snapped, forgetting herself for a moment. "What are you-" she stopped suddenly, looking up to see the reproachful eyes of Yugi, though he looked shocked that he had grabbed her wrist as well.

"You shouldn't touch other people's cards without their permission," he cautioned, releasing her wrist quickly.

She flushed, embarrassed and a little annoyed. "You don't have to keep trying to teach me things," she grumbled. "Yeah, very noble of you and all, but honestly."

He remained silent. "Sorry," he finally said, making Rebecca immediately feel ashamed.

"No, I'm sorry, Yugi," she muttered. "You're right, I'm too impatient. I always have been."

Joey snickered. "You _have_ always been," he said while shoveling ice cream into his mouth. "But that's okay. I can be pretty impatient, too."

"_That's_ an understatement," Tristan remarked, stealing a spoon of Joey's ice cream.

"Back off! You have your own!"

"Well, what _was_ your face down card, Bakura?" Yugi asked. With those words, Rebecca felt… something. An air of peace, of neutrality fell over her and Yugi. She smiled inwardly. He'd made peace with her once before, and he was doing it again. What an amazing person…

Bakura flipped over the card to reveal the Change of Heart.

"Oh!" Rebecca said, surprised. "Good thing I beat you this turn, then. Or you probably would have crushed me."

Bakura shrugged, gathering up his cards. "You're a strong duelist," he said modestly. "I think that I got this far was mostly luck."

Rebecca shook her head, swiftly sweeping up her cards. "Do you play professionally at all?"

Bakura shook his head shyly. "No. Actually, I don't play much at all. Usually just with my yami."

Rebecca opened her mouth to ask again who his yami was, but was interrupted by Téa's shriek.

"Joey Wheeler! The ice cream goes _into_ your mouth!"

*~*~*

Two hours later, Rebecca regretfully parted with Yugi. … That is, Yugi and Téa and Joey and Tristan and Bakura. … Right.

"I need to go get my baggage from the airport," she explained. "But maybe I'll see you around town."

Yugi, for the third time that hour, tried to ask her where she was staying, but again the words got stuck in his throat.

__

/Yami? When I get home, can we have a talk?/

A low laugh. _//Sure, hikari.//_

"Bye, everyone!" Rebecca said cheerfully.

"Bye," Yugi responded automatically. "I hope I'll see you around, Rebecca."

Rebecca had already turned her back, but she lifted her hand in parting.

"She's sure changed," Tristan remarked once the girl had turned the corner.

"And I think some of us are noticing more than others," Joey teased, draping an arm around Yugi's shoulders and mussing his hair.

"Joey!" Yugi cried.

*~*~*

First off: Thanks to everyone who reviewed! Whether you did it on your own or because I begged you, you are all fabulous! ^_^ Now, a couple people brought up similar issues that I'll try and address below-

About the ship: I really don't know why I chose Yugi/Rebecca. ::whacks plot bunny:: But I'm so glad people seem to like it! ^_____^ It's kawaii, I think, but I am glad I twisted their ages around. ::sweatdrop::

About updates: I'll update once a week, either Fridays or Saturdays. And don't worry, I have no intention of giving up this story. ::whispers:: Actually, I have most of it written already. I'll use the week to review chapters and take comments into consideration.

About the 'evil cliffhanger': Whoops! Believe it or not, I didn't realize it was that… cliff-hangy. ^_^() But then again, why would I? I know all. ::laugh that sounds strangely like Yami Bakura::

Please keep on reviewing; you made my day! If you need an incentive, I've got virtual Yugi plushies! (Or Seto plushies… _cough_Mamono_cough_) ^_^()


	3. Chapter 3

The Ties of Friendship

Just a quick note, I took some liberties with Rebecca's past. Nothing major, and not much angst, even though I think her parents are dead. Don't worry; overall, this will be a story liable to kill you with fluff. And suppressed emotions in those first two chapters. ~.^

*~*~*

Rebecca haphazardly threw her bags aside when she entered her grandfather's house and ran to the kitchen, the probable source of the delicious smells floating throughout the house.

"Grandpa!" she cried, flinging herself into his arms.

"Rebecca! I'm so glad you're home!" Arthur said warmly, returning the tight embrace.

"Yes… home…" she said dreamily. "That has a nice sound to it."

Her grandfather chuckled and released her. "I hope you'll be happy here," he said, returning to the counter to stir what Rebecca recognized as chowder. "If you'd like to see it, your room is upstairs. Second door to the right. First door is a closet, third is the bathroom. My bedroom is off to the left, along with a rather nice study you can use."

"Thanks, Grandpa!" she said, dashing up the stairs. She could get her bags later. Being with her grandfather usually brought out the child in her.

She reached the door to her new room and abruptly stopped. Through the slightly open door, she could see the pale yellow wallpaper. She slowly entered, taking in all the surroundings. It was an almost exact replica of the house she'd lived in with her parents growing up. The first few years of her life had been the only years where she had an actual home.

The only thing different, of course, was the bed. Where her crib had once stood, and later her small, low bed, now proudly sat a four-post oak bed. It was beautiful, and she instinctively knew that there was something special about it.

She traced the lines on it softly with a finger. For a while she stood there, lost in thought, until her grandfather's calling brought her back to the kitchen.

She entered to find the table all set and the food ready to serve. "Oh, Grandpa," she said, suddenly feeling guilty. "You should have asked me to help."

He simply shook a finger at her. "Don't you worry about that, Rebecca," he said gently. "I have a feeling you found your mothers bed."

"Is that what it was?" she asked, feeling tears coming to her eyes. "It's gorgeous."

Arthur nodded slowly, sitting down across from his granddaughter, who also sunk into her seat. "It was where she slept when she was a teenager as well. It was where she had all her dreams."

Her dreams… and now it would be Rebecca's turn to dream in that bed.

*~*~*

__

//Maybe I should just come out of the puzzle, Yugi// Yami suggested. _//I think that will make it easier for us to talk.//_

Yugi nodded in agreement, knowing the spirit would sense it. A second later, the Millennium Puzzle glowed briefly and a hologram of his yami appeared, plopping carelessly on the bed. "So, Yugi, what did you want to talk about? Not that I don't already know…" Yami added, grinning and beginning to bounce.

Yugi cocked an eyebrow. "You really love that bed, don't you?"

"I spend most of my time in the stupid puzzle," Yami grumbled. "I deserve a little fun time."

Yugi shrugged, grinning. "If you want, Yami, you can stay out tomorrow night," he offered. "Grandpa's having some people over for dinner, and at least one of us should be entertained."

"Your presence is required?" Yami asked, stopping his bouncing and flopping on Yugi's pillow.

"Yeah," Yugi grumbled. "Bunch of old architects looking at me and talking about the good times they had when they were young."

Yami nodded. "My presence was _always_ required," he mused. "As pharaoh, they never let you alone."

Yugi nodded, taking a seat beside a pile of old clothes and magazines. He gazed up at his Yami. "You said you already know what I wanted to talk about…"

"Rebecca Hawkins," Yami said wisely, though it was awfully hard to be wise while tossing Yugi's pillow into the air and catching it with his feet.

"Wha-" Yugi spluttered.

"You aren't very good at hiding your feelings, Yugi," Yami laughed. "I bet even Joey could tell, and he doesn't even have access to your train of thoughts."

Yugi scowled. "Well, if you're so sure you know what I'm thinking…" his voice trailed off and Yami raised a questioning eyebrow. "Well, could you tell me?" Yugi burst out, dramatically putting his head on the pile of clothes on the floor, including the leather shirt he'd worn the previous day. "It's too darn confusing!"

"Ever the innocent hikari," Yami teased gently. "If you really want to know, Yugi…" he struggled to control the enormous grin creeping onto his face, "I think you're growing up."

Yugi grabbed the first thing his hand came in contact with, which happened to be a random shoe, and threw it at Yami.

"Hey!" Yami said, covering his face with the pillow. "Let's face it, Yugi. You hit puberty awfully late. I haven't felt you show interest in a girl for ages. And Rebecca… well, let's just say she's grown up too. It's natural to notice such things. And it's good to know you're being natural, for once."

Yugi groaned. "This is really embarrassing," he said to no one. "Why did I ever come to you for advice?"

"Because I'm the one with the girls at my fingertips," Yami said, grinning.

Yugi snorted. "Okay," he continued, after a pause, "basically you're saying that I like Rebecca."

Yami groaned. "_That_ was what you wanted to talk about? I thought you were asking for advice on how to get her! Your crush couldn't be more obvious."

Yugi turned bright red. "Yami!" he wailed. "What am I going to do?"

"Now this is more like it," the spirit said, sitting up and grinning. "First thing…"

*~*~* 

Yami might be OOC, and Yugi and Yami's conversation might have been a bit odd, but oh well. I just wrote them the way I love them. ^.^ Oh, and for those of you that are now looking forward to Yami's 'girl advice talk', I'm sorry, but I don't think I'll be writing it. ::sweatdrop:: Sorry, but I'm a girl! It's kind of hard for me. ~.^ Although if anyone else wanted to take a stab at making a humor fic out of it, go right ahead. LOL.

I mentioned beds a lot, didn't I? O.o No, there's not supposed to be anything symbolic about that…

As always, review! ^___^


	4. Chapter 4

The Ties of Friendship

Whoops! I did intend to update once a week, but my account was blocked until today. ::sticks tongue out:: Bleh, my fault. Well, sorry this was late, but the next chapter should hopefully be on time anyway. (Friday or Saturday)

Note: The cards I use in this episode are real. I hope I got the effects right, and I hope I wrote the duel right, but if I didn't please forgive any errors.

*~*~*

"By the way, Rebecca," her grandfather called to her as she hurried out of the house the next afternoon, "I nearly forgot to tell you. I'm going to dinner with one of my friends tonight, and I'd like you to come along."

"Okay, Grandpa!" Rebecca called just before the front door banged shut. She nearly skipped down the walk, feeling incredibly giddy. She'd had the best nights sleep in her mother's bed that she'd had in ages. She'd had a fantastic dream, too, that she couldn't quite remember all of… something about violet eyes…

She focused on the image of those eyes, big and trusting and full of love. Whose had they been?

She was concentrating on those violet eyes in her mind so much, she didn't notice when she walked directly into their owner.

*~*~*

"Rebecca!" Yugi blurted when he saw her jog out of a pretty blue house. He hadn't known she lived near Téa!

The girl didn't seem to hear him; she was smiling slightly at some passing thought. "Rebecca!" he tried again, running up to her.

It was a surprise when she abruptly turned the corner and bumped into him. "Oh!" she cried, startled.

"I'm sorry!" Yugi said worriedly. "Did I hurt you?"

She was silent, staring directly into his eyes, mouth half-open as she absently rubbed her stomach. With a pang, Yugi realized that that was where her delicate flesh had hit his bulky Millennium Puzzle. "Sorry," he apologized again, putting a hand on the sharp edge. "That must have hurt."

Slowly, she seemed to come out of her trance, and blinked at him. "Oh! Sorry, Yugi. I wasn't looking where I was going." She rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. "So… what are you doing in this area of town?"

"I was going to pick up Téa," Yugi said, gesturing at the pink house down the street. "We were just going to meet Joey and Tristan in the center of town again; Joey wants to look for a good duel. Um… would you like to come with us?"

Rebecca hesitated. Oh, she wanted to, especially after realizing that Yugi's eyes had been haunting her dreams. But she was flustered right now, and embarrassed to be around the boy. "I'm… sorry. I can't right now. But maybe I'll see you around?"

"Sure," Yugi mumbled, hating the blush that was staining his cheeks _again_. "See you."

Rebecca hurried away, wondering what was wrong with her.

*~*~*

"A duel!" Joey cried excitedly, shoving his ice cream cone into Téa's hands as he dashed forward. "Maybe they'll let me play the winner!"

Téa looked at the sticky white vanilla ice cream dripping over the sides and made a noise of disgust. Bakura thoughtfully handed her a few napkins as the rest of the boys dashed ahead.

They'd had relative success finding duelists; just not any good ones. Yugi had beaten his younger opponent with ease, and Joey had taken three down in a row.

Joey elbowed Tristan in the side as he tried to pass through the thick and excited crowd, while the shorter Yugi ducked under easily. He stopped short as he came to the center, however, and when Joey came up behind him he said loudly, "Hey, it's Rebecca!"

Rebecca heard the voice, and saw Yugi's hair out of the corner of her eye. Why did he show up everywhere? She ignored him, however, knowing that it was important to keep her concentration on the game.

"You're going down," her opponent snarled. He was a tough, thickly built teenage boy. He was rude, though, and she suspected he was one of the town bullies. Well, she'd teach him a thing or two.

"Well, let's see where we stand," she said mockingly. "You haven't even touched my lifepoints, while you're down to a measly four hundred. I have my Millennium Shield on the field protecting me, and you have no monsters. And…" she glanced at the card she'd just drawn. "Perfect. I'll lay one card face down, and play the magic card Soul Release! To rid _your_ graveyard of five monsters!"

"Big deal," the boy sneered. "The monsters in my graveyard weren't doing me any good, anyway."

She snorted at him. "And now I'll activate… Graverobber's Retribution!"

Yugi drew in a breath as the trap card was revealed. Joey, who had never heard of it before, folded his arms and nodded importantly.

"What does that do?" someone in the crowd wondered.

"It's a powerful trap card," Yugi explained earnestly. "During each of her opponent's stand-by phases, he loses 100 life points."

"Aw, man," the person said, "so it's all over next turn."

Rebecca tilted her head and gave a confident smile to Yugi. She'd already won, and was feeling cocky. "Make your move any time you'd like," she said airily.

Her opponent slowly drew his card. Immediately, his life points were brought down to…

"Zero," Rebecca announced. "I win. That was easy."

The crowd broke into cheers and immediately began dispersing. Rebecca turned to give a small wave to Yugi, as well as Joey and the others who had caught up, but her opponent stormed up behind her.

"I don't take losing easily," he snapped, grabbing her wrist.

Téa's eyes widened, and Joey bristled menacingly, but Rebecca slowly turned to glare at him. "That's your problem," she snapped back. "And a major problem it is, so I'd suggest you go and get help instead of wasting my time."

He glowered, jerking her wrist back. Rebecca let out a small hiss of pain at the abrupt movement. As one, Joey and Tristan moved forward to grab her opponent-turned-attacker, but suddenly the man froze. His grip on Rebecca's wrist slackened, and she pulled it free just before he collapsed on the ground. A strange eye glowed on his forehead.

Confused, Rebecca turned to Yugi, only to find him… different. "That man was street scum," he announced in a deep voice. His hair had changed, and he was taller, eyes narrower. But Rebecca decided she was imagining things, for when she next blinked the changes seemed to have disappeared. "Come on, guys," Yugi said cheerfully, "let's move along. There's usually a lot of duelists along Brick Street."

Rebecca started to say something, but Téa grabbed one of her arms and Bakura grabbed the other, and the two of them propelled her down the street. Yugi and Joey and Tristan brought up the rear, beginning to laugh and smile again, while the man just began to stir behind them.

*~*~*

^____^ I love Yami and his mind-crush. But I did decide not to have him _kill_ the poor sucker. O.O() 

Rebecca was awfully cocky in this chapter. I intended her to be that way. ::shrug::

By the way, I'd like to take this time to confess that the story is already finished. I'm not posting it all because I still want to read the chapters over, make any corrections, etc etc blah blah, but I figured I'd tell you so that you understand if I don't end up using your suggestions! I like some of the ones I've gotten, but don't want to rewrite the story since I'm satisfied with how it turned out. ^_^() In case you want to know, as it stands now it's eight chapters and an epilogue. 

Anyway, thank you reviewers! Now… go click the pretty button… ~.^


	5. Chapter 5

The Ties of Friendship

I'm making this up, just so you know: ^_^() When Yugi and Yami separate bodies, they lose the mind link. Yami's body is only in spirit form and he can't stay out of it long. That's all, enjoy the chapter! (I hope…)

Warning: Sappiness to the point of throwing up. ^_^

*~*~*

"I look like a dork," Yugi announced.

"What's a dork?" Yami asked absently. He'd separated from Yugi and was currently playing with the springs in the mattress while his hikari dressed for his grandfather's dinner.

Yugi sighed. "Never mind." He eyed himself with loathing in the mirror; Grandpa had insisted on wearing khakis and a plaid shirt. He supposed some people could pull off the look; but it clashed horribly with his hair. He wanted so much to wear the tight, comforting leather he was accustomed to, but his grandfather answered that with a strict 'no.' He'd said no to jewelry, too, except for the Millennium Puzzle.

"Does it have anything to do with those clothes?" Yami asked helpfully. "Because it's really not a good look for you."

"Thanks," Yugi said, scowling. "I know that. But Grandpa's old friends don't like to see young men wearing leather. So he's making me 'dress up' to give them a good impression."

"Oh. So you said I can stay out of the puzzle tonight?"

Yugi sighed. "Sure, go ahead. But I'll miss talking with you. Things will be boring."

"Thanks, Yugi!" Yami said happily, jumping up on the bed.

"Just don't destroy anything!" Yugi shot over his shoulder.

After the door closed, Yami let himself grin. As if his hikari's room could get any messier anyway.

*~*~*

"Rebecca!" Arthur scolded the girl as she entered the house, face flushed. "We have to go eat dinner with my friend tonight!"

"I'm on time," she protested.

"Barely," he answered her, the corner of his mouth twitching. "I bought you some clothes… will you wear them?"

She raised an eyebrow. As far as dressing went, she was pretty conservative, but then again it was a far shot from the types of clothes her grandmother must have worn. "May…be…" she said slowly.

He grinned, and indicated the chair behind him. She stifled her groan when she saw a frilly pink dress. "Oh, Grandpa…" she began.

"Come on, Rebecca," he said pleadingly, "It's just like the dress your grandmother was wearing when I first met her."

Ha! She knew it. But now he was putting her on the guilt trip… "She looked like an angel," he was saying. "When I first saw her, it was a breezy afternoon in the park. By some trick of the wind, her hair was floating around her head, and I swear that for a moment, as the sun set behind her, I saw white wings spreading from her back…" His eyes misted over and he stared into space dreamily.

Rebecca twisted her lips and eyed the dress. It wasn't all that bad, she supposed… The sleeves were white, with ribbons trailing from them. And the dress wasn't so much frilly as _flowing_, which was nice. It would cling to her upper body, she could tell, and then stretch out and fall in waves around her legs. It looked comfortable, at least. "I'll wear it," she said, trying to keep the reluctance out of her voice. She took the dress carefully and went to change in the bathroom.

When she looked in the mirror, she let out a gasp. The dress did indeed cling to her… assets, making her very grateful that there would be no teenage boys at dinner than night and that her grandfather chose nice friends. But all these thoughts were second to the realization that she recognized the dress.

It was the same dress the blonde girl was wearing on the Ties of Friendship card.

The realization stunned Rebecca into silence for a few minutes, and she simply nodded when her grandfather complimented her beauty in the dress. It wasn't until they were in the car that she broke out of her reverie and thought to ask who they were having dinner with.

"Is it anyone I've met?" she asked cheerfully, smoothing down her skirt and remembering some of her grandfather's friends' visits from when they were staying in Las Vegas.

"Oh, yes," Arthur responded, equally cheerful. "Solomon Moto, you remember him? My old friend from our archaeology trip in Egypt. I believe you met him last time we were in Domino."

Rebecca paled. _Yugi_.

"They live close," Arthur remarked, seemingly oblivious. However, he peeked in the mirror at his granddaughter's expression, and the girl was too lost in thought to notice. "Right in that house over there."

Panicked thoughts of running away flashed through Rebecca's mind. She didn't want Yugi to see her! Not in this dress! And not after she broke away, embarrassed and confused, from their little group after Yugi's mysterious… whatever.

When she stepped out of the car, the wind suddenly decided to pick up. Instinctively, she brushed her hair impatiently away from her face. Great. She was going to have to face Yugi Moto in a far-too-revealing dress only a few hours after she ran away from him with no more than a "gotta go, bye," and only a few more hours after she dreamt about those haunting eyes, _and_ she was going to have to do it with wild hair. Perfectly perfect.

*~*~*

"I'll get it," Yugi called as the doorbell rang. His response was some muttering from his grandfather in the kitchen, who was trying to cook… well, Yugi didn't really know what it was. Some fancy Italian dish, or so Solomon claimed.

He smoothed down the front of his dorky shirt and plastered a smile on his face. He yanked open the door, and his jaw dropped.

He didn't see Arthur Hawkins, who had discreetly stepped to the side. His attention was focused wholly on the girl in front of him, standing delicately with her eyes half-closed. She was wearing a gorgeous, flowing pink-and-white dress. The wind swirled around her, making the ribbons on her dress dance elegantly around her body and her blonde hair seem to float in the sky. And for a moment… as the sun set behind the girl and she seemed to shine of golden rays… Yugi could have sworn she had pure white wings.

The lines of reality and fiction seemed blurred. It was the Ties of Friendship card. But as the girl slowly opened her eyes, and shining blue-green orbs focused on him, he recognized the beauty in front of him as the new owner and likeness of the Ties of Friendship. _Rebecca_, he tried to say, but words wouldn't form.

*~*~*

She sat tensely at the table, listening to Yugi and her grandfather chat easily about the newest duel monster. Well, she was glad that _someone_ could relax.

"Arthur!" Solomon cried from the doorway to the kitchen. "I'm sorry I couldn't come right out and greet you; I was having a bit of trouble with this food."

"Oh, that's perfectly all right," Professor Hawkins beamed, rising and embracing his friend. "Let me help you with the food."

"Oh, it's all set," Solomon beamed back. "I'll carry it in, just give me a second…"

"I'll help you," Arthur insisted, following the shorter man into the kitchen.

Rebecca stared determinedly at her placemat. After a while, she couldn't take it anymore, and quickly glanced up, to find Yugi staring at her, transfixed. Cheeks burning, she looked back down. She waited a few seconds, trying to find something to say, and had just decided to apologize for running off earlier when the kitchen door swung open and the grandfathers came in with large silver platters.

"This is wonderful!" Arthur beamed, setting the plate down in between Rebecca and Yugi. She glanced at the food. Spaghetti… meatballs… and garlic bread.

Yugi suddenly smiled. "I see what you mean, Grandpa," he teased. "A fancy Italian dish. No wonder you were struggling so much with it."

"Ah, this is master spaghetti!" Solomon cried, grinning broadly.

Rebecca gritted her teeth as she passed her plate for Solomon to serve. Sure, it was one of her favorite meals, but not with _Yugi_ around. Spaghetti, so she could make a fool of herself trying to cram it into her mouth. Meatballs dripping with sauce, so she could spill it all over herself. And garlic bread, so she could stink Yugi out. Again, perfectly perfect.

*~*~*

By the way… I did have a reason for putting Rebecca in her grandmother's dress/Ties of Friendship dress. It relates as well to the bed, and the talking about 'dreaming in the bed'. Sorry, but that's one of those obnoxious side stories _I_ know about, for plot purposes, but will never actually tell the readers. ¬¬()

Also: I referred to her eyes as blue-green. Actually, I didn't really know how to describe them. I found a picture, and blew it up. They're really, really pretty. I don't think we get to see enough of them in the show. ^.^() Sort of sea-blue, fading to sea green, with a little bit of gold along the edge. ^^; Of course, I had to enlarge the picture about 10 times to see them well!


	6. Chapter 6

The Ties of Friendship

*~*~*

Rebecca picked out a single spaghetti piece and carefully twirled her fork around it. When she was sure it was on, she moved the fork to her mouth. Of course, the spaghetti came loose and flopped down on the corner of her mouth anyway. This had to be the most embarrassing meal she'd ever eaten at. Normally, eating spaghetti was an art for her. But with Yugi watching, nuh-uh.

She looked over at him, trying not to seem obvious. He picked up a fork, letting the spaghetti dangle off the sides, and crammed it into his mouth. The noodles poked out the sides, and he nosily sucked them in.

Rebecca couldn't help but giggle, and he flashed her an innocent look. Maybe hanging out with Joey and Tristan so often was bad for him, if he was learning these messy habits.

On the other hand… maybe he wouldn't mind if she stopped eating so primly now.

She twirled her fork in the center of her plate, picking up a big, messy lump with spaghetti dangling from the sides. Thinking twice, she put the fork down and tucked her napkin into the pretty dress, then picked up the fork again and carefully maneuvered it into her mouth. By tilting her head toward the ceiling, she managed to get all but a few pieces of spaghetti in all the way. She stuck her tongue out and managed to gather the rest in.

Yugi grinned at her, and stabbed his fork in the general direction of down. He lifted it out again with a piece of meatball on the end, and spaghetti hanging off. Carelessly, he shoved it into his mouth, and used the fork to coax stray noodles in.

She giggled again. The meal had taken a turn for the better.

*~*~*

Yugi took a forkful of spaghetti, managed to triumphantly cram it all into his mouth, and winked at Rebecca. It was her turn.

As she wiggled the fork around, trying to get the spaghetti to form a neat ball, Yugi took a small sip of water. Rebecca finally put the spaghetti-ball in her mouth, with only a few pieces protruding from her mouth. She used her tongue again to gather these up.

__

Why did she keep doing that with her tongue? It was making him decidedly uncomfortable.

Carelessly, he reached for a piece of garlic bread and bit into it. Immediately, he gagged, just barely managing to keep from spitting it back onto his plate. He forgot that his grandfather liked to go extra heavy on the garlic.

Curious as to what was wrong with the bread, Rebecca took a bite of her own.

__

Ack!

Yugi laughed silently as she choked on it, causing her to glare at him. Determined to prove… something… to him, she took another defiant bite.

Not to be outdone, Yugi ripped a piece off and stuffed it in his mouth, allowing the bread to stuff his cheeks, giving him a chipmunk-ish look that Rebecca found oddly appealing. Well, it suited him. Cute, adorable, sweet…

Oh, no. She was blushing again.

"That was delicious!" Arthur exclaimed, pushing his chair back and rubbing his stomach affectionately. "Thank you, Solomon!"

"Thank _you_, Arthur, for coming tonight," Grandpa replied, beaming. "And thank you for bringing your lovely granddaughter." For some reason, Yugi (who had taken a sip of water to counter all the garlic) spit the water back into his glass at this statement. Rebecca pretended not to notice, inwardly torn. _Is that a good sign? Or a bad one?_

"Oh, we had a marvelous time," Arthur beamed.

"Would you fancy a cup of coffee? And perhaps a game of Duel Monsters?" Solomon asked, hand unconsciously reaching for his dueling deck.

"I'd love to!" Professor Hawkins exclaimed, standing up.

"Excellent! We can go into the living room. Yugi, why don't you take Rebecca upstairs and you two can play in your room?"

For a second, Yugi wasn't sure he heard his grandfather right. Then for another second, he thought he was joking. "What?"

"You and Rebecca can just play in your room. Or _'hang out,' _whatever you youths call it these days." Solomon winked at Arthur.

Yugi opened his mouth, then snapped it shut. First off, he was supposed to bring a _girl _into his bedroom? And not just any girl. He was supposed to bring _Rebecca Hawkins_ into his room? And what about the mess? Not even Téa would go in there. Not even _Tristan_ would go in there. Only Joey was brave enough, claiming it reminded him of home.

He glanced up then. _Oh… I should have taught her more about patience when I had the chance_. Rebecca was already halfway up the stairs.

*~*~*

The second Solomon had made his declaration, Rebecca bolted for the stairs, hoping that Yugi wouldn't see the lovely shade of tomato her face had turned. Maybe he'd think she just spilled sauce on it or something. Yes, it was _that_ red.

"Which one is your room?" she called over her shoulder, curiosity rising. She'd never really been in a boy's room before, save her grandfather's. What was it like, anyway? Was it a whole new dimension? Did boys feel the same way about going into girl's rooms?

"Um, first one to your left," Yugi called, struggling to hurry up the stairs. "But you might not want to go in there… it's, um, kind of messy." He was silent for a moment, moving upwards, and Rebecca put her hand on the doorknob.

"Oh!" Yugi suddenly cried, startled. "Wait! Don't go in there! Yami's out!"

"Who's Yami?" Rebecca asked, even as she turned the door handle.

*~*~*

Yugi was in the room already. At least, that's what she first thought. But then she looked closer… and Yugi was different. He was taller, eyes more narrowed, hair slightly different. And he'd somehow changed clothes.

And he was bouncing on the bed.

And she could see through him.

"Oh!" she cried, jumping backwards. And into the real Yugi.

"Rebecca!" he cried, equally startled. He put a restraining hand on her shoulder as he peeked despondently into the room. Yami stopped his jumping, and turned to look at them.

"Er… hello," the spirit offered.

*~*~*

::cough:: Whoops, a cliffhanger again. Ah, well. Patience is a virtue. (That Rebecca is lacking) ^_^ Thanks to everyone who reviewed; you guys are the best. ~.^ I'll be seeing you in a week, then. (lucky you!)


	7. Chapter 7

The Ties of Friendship

Yay! ::huggles lovely reviewers:: Thanks so much to everyone! You've totally boosted my self-confidence over the story and you ALL ROCK! Just to clarify something (that Lady Tiger LiLy asked ^_^), Yugi spit his water out when Grandpa called Rebecca lovely. It was just a reflex because he _does_ think she's 'lovely,' and he was surprised to hear someone else echoing his thoughts. @.@ I guess it's one of those things that just wrote itself, because I'm entirely unsure how to explain it. Again, thanks to reviewers, and I hope you enjoy this chapter!

*~*~*

"Who are you?" Rebecca asked uncertainly, unconsciously reaching her hand up and gripping Yugi's, which was clasped on her shoulder. "You're Yami?"

The boy nodded energetically. "I'm Yugi's yami," he clarified.

Well, that was helpful. "And I'm Yugi's Rebecca," she muttered sarcastically.

"What?" Yami was sure he couldn't have heard her right. Unless his hikari was faster than he thought. Yugi didn't have the mind-link with Yami anymore, but he could still read the expression on the Pharaoh's face clearly, and answered it with a violent and panicked shake of his head.

"Yami is a term for a, uh… a spirit," Yugi explained, grasping. "But my yami's name is also Yami. I know it's confusing at first, but you get used to it."

"Right," Rebecca said, raising her eyebrows. "Your see-through twin is jumping on your bed, but I have to get used to the fact that he had a weird name."

Yugi frowned a bit. "Were you always this sarcastic?" he asked rhetorically.

Immediately, Rebecca blushed. Well, yes, she was always sarcastic, but it hadn't really shown around Yugi. That brought up the question of 'why now,' and she answered herself with another apprehensive look at the spirit. So stress did that to her…

"I don't understand," she finally confessed, shaking off all these other thoughts.

Deciding to forget about explaining the other six Millennium Items for now, Yugi put his free hand on the Millennium Puzzle. "Yami is a spirit that lives within the Millennium Puzzle," he explained quietly. Rebecca's grip on his hand relaxed, but he didn't remove it from her shoulder. "He was once the Pharaoh in Ancient Egypt. He shares a body with me, but he can sometimes separate. Like now."

She drew in a shaky breath. "You know, I don't think I would believe you," she said, laughing nervously, "except I've heard the stories my grandfather brought back from his architectural trips in Egypt. And of course, how else would I explain that… that…" she hesitated, afraid she'd insult Yami somehow.

Yami grinned understandingly. "Well, I'll go back into the Puzzle now," he said. Without waiting for Yugi's protests, he disappeared in a flash of light.

Rebecca shrieked again, and Yugi grabbed her other shoulder with his other hand. "It's okay," he reassured her. "He just went back into the Puzzle. It's not really a big deal… he just likes to make a flashy exit."

"Oh," Rebecca said simply, staring wide-eyed at the Puzzle and still feeling a bit confused. "Um…"

Yugi realized just how close she was to him. He was holding both her shoulders… if he was ever going to do anything, now was the time.

…Wait a second, what did he _mean_, 'do anything'? Gah. Yami was a bad influence on him.

Rebecca finally raised her eyes to his to find him intently examining her. She blushed… there should really be a limit to how many times a person could blush in a day.

… Was it her imagination, or was Yugi moving closer to her? Yes, he definitely was. Closer… his eyes moved downward to focus on her lips… closer… his mouth parted slightly… closer… he drew in a shaky breath through his nostrils…

And they broke apart. "Ugh," Rebecca commented, jokingly plugging her nose. "Garlic."

"Grandpa really went heavy, didn't he?" Yugi asked apologetically. "Um… do you want to brush your teeth or something? I have about five toothbrushes that the dentist gave me, but I always use the ones Grandpa buys. You can borrow one of them…"

"Sure," Rebecca said, a bit shyly. She followed him down the hall, where he handed her a brand-new toothbrush still in the box.

They ended up brushing their teeth side by side, making faces at each other in the mirror. Rebecca leaned over to spit, wondering at the oddity of the situation.

As they walked back to Yugi's bedroom in silence, the raised laughter of their grandfathers floating up the stairs, it occurred to her to wonder what would have happened had they not been 'smelled out'.

"So," Yugi asked, standing awkwardly in the middle of the room. "Um… what did you want us to do?"

Rebecca fought the blush. "Er… I don't know," she said vaguely. "Anything."

"Right…" his voice trailed off.

"Right…" she said so silently, it was almost a whisper.

To avoid looking at her, Yugi randomly glanced around the room. Clothes everywhere… random books and magazines lying haphazardly around… half-finished projects, pencils, games, trinkets, borrowed things from friends. A complete mess.

And worst of all… the thing that made Yugi's eyes go wide… the ultimate horror and embarrassment…

His boxers. The boxers his grandfather had bought him, that he wore strictly out of amusement… the ones with Duel Monsters printed all over them. The obviously used and dirty and dorky boxers, lying carelessly on the ground.

And Rebecca was standing on them.

*~*~*

Rebecca couldn't believe that anyone's room could get this dirty… but then again, she didn't expect to see Yami either. So she eyed her surroundings with extreme curiosity and mild disgust (though she was careful not to let that show).

Yugi's floor… well, what floor? She couldn't tell what color the carpet was – if there was a carpet at all – underneath the mounds of old clothing. Not even the area she was standing on was clean. She'd been forced to step on something, hoping Yugi wouldn't mind. Judging from the state of the rest of the room, he wouldn't.

She wondered what she was standing on. She could only see a corner of the fabric; the rest was hidden by her long skirt. She moved her leg slightly and immediately felt the blood rush to her head. Oh, god. She'd been standing with her foot on Yugi's boxers! Yugi's _used_ boxers!

Through her repetitive pleas to God to just kill her now, she noticed that they had a funny design on them. Bending her head slightly, hoping she wasn't too obvious, she peered down to see… Duel Monsters? Yugi wore Duel Monsters underwear? How… sweet…

Rebecca suddenly became aware that the boy was staring at her with an expression of sheer horror. She jerked her head up quickly, and took a quick step back. She opened her mouth to apologize, then snapped it shut. Damnit, what to _do_ now?

*~*~*

Hmm, what _to_ do? Anyway, as you can tell (I hope) we're nearing some actual interaction. Finally! Bet you thought they were going to kiss back there, huh? ::shudder:: Not with that breath. But now they smell minty-licious! ^__^ For some reason, that's always been an area of concern for me, and it happened to fit into the story nicely. O.o

Guess what? Only one more chapter! And then an epilogue. ^_^

Reviews are always appreciated… did I really need to say that? ^^;; Well, I suppose it's better than getting to one knee and begging.


	8. Chapter 8

The Ties of Friendship 

*~*~*

Rebecca debated apologizing, but with an inward groan realized that she'd been gaping at Yugi for about thirty seconds now, and it would seem ridiculous if she started now. She settled for staring determinedly in the opposite direction, hoping Yugi might think of something to say. And hopefully not about the fact that she'd been standing on his underwear for the last few minutes.

Her eyes darted over to him. Yugi was giving his head a little twitch. Her eyes flickered away, and then back: Yugi was still shaking his head. His brow was furrowed in annoyance. "Gah!" he muttered under his breath.

"Yugi?" she asked timidly. Had she done something wrong? Well, besides the obvious?

His head jerked up. "No!" he cried in exasperation.

She cocked her head in confusion. Maybe she should leave…

She gave a half-turn, heading for the door, when Yugi's hand shot out and grabbed her wrist. Stopping dead in her tracks, she pivoted to face him, reminded of the incident in the ice cream shop. It seemed like ages ago…

"I'm sorry, Rebecca," Yugi apologized, keeping his grip on her wrist firm. "I'm not angry with you. I was talking to Yami… sometimes when that happens I get distracted."

"Oh," she said, unsure of where to go. His tight grip was making her a bit uncomfortable and she tried to gently tug her hand away. Yugi seemed about to let go, but all of a sudden his fingers clenched again. "Ah!" she cried involuntarily.

"I'm sorry!" Yugi cried again, looking anxious. "Yami took control of my hand for a second. He wants me to… well." He stopped, feeling himself dangerously close to blushing again. "You don't have to worry, though. He doesn't usually do that. Actually… I don't think he's ever done it before."

"Are you in control again?" Rebecca asked quietly.

"Oh… yes. I am."

The two of them looked at Yugi's hand still clutching hers. He didn't let go.

Rebecca searched her mind for something to say. "What did Yami want you to do?" she asked, giving Yugi a tentative smile.

He looked startled at the question. After a few seconds of staring into her eyes, Yugi seemed to make up his mind.

"He wanted me to kiss you," he said, grinning at her slightly. It took a moment for this to register in Rebecca's mind, but when it did, her eyes went wide.

"He wanted me to keep my grip on your wrist," Yugi continued, feeling Yami lend him some courage to keep going. "And reach out with my other hand…" he reached out slowly… "and pull you towards me."

Rebecca's feet moved on their own, not needing Yugi's encouragement. "And then what?" she asked breathlessly, feeling strange.

Yugi shrugged, moving his hands to grab her shoulders. "And then do this," he pulled her even closer. There really wasn't that much different in their heights. Rebecca found herself staring directly into those sweet purple eyes, and remembered again her dream.

She'd always imagined her first kiss – yes, her _first_ kiss – to be eye-popping, making her swoon, and very firm. In truth, she didn't realize they were kissing (as she'd closed her eyes as his lips got closer) for a few seconds. Yugi was so gentle… soft… hesitant. It was… perfect…

And his breath smelled pretty good this time.

*~*~*

Yugi grazed Rebecca's lips with his own, praying that she couldn't hear his heart pounding. Dimly, he heard his yami laughing. After a few seconds of light, barely-touching kisses, the Pharaoh grew impatient. _//Come on, Yugi//_ the spirit urged. _//Didn't you say she was a tough girl?//_

/Yami!/ Yugi sent, horrified. _/Mind your own business!/_

//I'll make you a deal,// Yami offered. _//I'll separate from you and leave the room. But you have to start stepping things up when I'm gone!//_

Yugi thought about it, breaking apart from Rebecca just long enough for the two of them to breathe. _/Just go already./_

Without further ado, Yami sprung free and was out the door before Rebecca could really register what happened. "Yami left," Yugi reassured her. "We, um… we have privacy now."

"Oh," Rebecca said, staring at his shoulder. With a small smile, Yugi reached over and tipped her face back towards his. In unison, the two broke out into huge grins. Rebecca enthusiastically threw her arms around Yugi, giving him a big hug. "You're awesome," she whispered in his ear.

Yugi laughed, nearly falling backwards. "You're pretty cool yourself," he said, returning her hug. That was enough for the two of them for a while. Until, of course, Yugi remembered Yami's request, and with a grin…

Began tickling her.

*~*~*

Yami made his way down the stairs, feeling very self-satisfied. "Hello!" he said, marching into the room where Solomon and Arthur were wrapping up their Duel Monsters Game.

"Yami! Lovely to see you again," Arthur said with a wink at the spirit. "How go the two little lovebirds?"

"Lame," he offered, taking a seat on the couch. "One kiss that was barely a kiss. Yugi is too shy for his own good."

"It's rather unlike the two of them," Solomon mused. "They're such forward people."

"Ah, well, perhaps they were embarrassed that Yami was watching them," Arthur said reasonably.

Yami nodded. "I told Yugi that I would come down here and leave them alone, but that they had to step things up." At this, the older (depending on how you looked at things) men raised their eyebrows.

"We can count on Yugi and Rebecca to be responsible," Solomon said, looking at Arthur for reassurance.

"Of course we can!"

The three men fell silent, glancing at each other thoughtfully, when they heard hysterical laughter. "Yugi! Stop that! It tickles!"

As one, they shot out of their seats and bolted upstairs. Yami was first into the room, since the spirit didn't need to throw open the door like Solomon and Arthur. He simply passed through the wall.

Yugi stopped tickling Rebecca and looked up curiously. "Hi guys. Who won the game?"

Solomon threw Arthur a guilty look. "We, uh… never finished it," he mumbled.

"We wanted to… uh, to see if you two wanted dessert!" Arthur lied, smiling cheerfully.

"Sure!" Yugi said, helping Rebecca up. "Let's go!"

The two young ones led the way, holding hands and giggling, as Yami and Grandpa and Professor Hawkins followed sheepishly. "I told you we could trust them," Yami muttered.

Solomon and Arthur exchanged knowing smiles. "Ah, yes. We should have listened to you, Yami," Arthur said with a wink.

*~*~*

Okay, I realize that 'tickling' thing was a little clichéd, but… yeah. ^_^() 

This was the last official chapter! I'm going to miss this story… well, there will be an epilogue. ^.^ Oh, and someone asked for a sequel. To tell the truth, I planned a sequel. I changed the epilogue to lead up to it, and even wrote the first chapter… then I realized I'd made a giant, huge, major mistake with the timeline. Like, a twenty-year mistake. -_- So I don't think I'll have one, but you never know!

Thanks for reading, and reviews are embraced with open arms. (and sometimes I travel through the computer screen and yank them forcibly from you…) 


	9. Epilogue

Warning: The authoress is not responsible for death by fluff. As a matter of fact, she herself inhaled enormous quantities while reading this and would have suffocated had it not been cotton-candy fluff, which as we all know melts immediately. So now she's just hyper. o.O

The Ties of Friendship

Epilogue

*~*~*

Rebecca and Yugi expected a bigger reaction when they walked into the restaurant holding hands, but the friends they were meeting there – namely, Téa, Tristan, Bakura and Joey – didn't bat an eye. Well, actually, they did. Joey and Tristan batted several eyes.

"I love you, Yugi, honey," Joey crooned at Tristan.

"I love you too, Rebecca," Tristan said back in a goofy voice. "I'm so glad I got up the nerve to finally make a move on you, when it's totally obvious we've been crushing on each other for a couple days."

"Am I blushing again?" Joey parodied, putting his hand to his face.

"I think so!" Tristan gasped. "And so am I! Quick, let's not look at each other. Maybe no one will notice."

Rebecca narrowed her eyes at them. "You…" she began. "You… you…"

"You you you," Yugi laughed. "You… gi?"

She shook her head, letting herself laugh. Téa gave her a wink. "They'll never grow up," she said, sliding down the bench to make room for Rebecca and Yugi to sit down.

"Are you sure that they want to sit with us?" Joey asked, letting his voice become normal and teasing. "Wouldn't they rather take a couple's boo- aargh!"

Rebecca smiled sweetly at him. "Oh, was that your leg I kicked?" she asked, batting her eyes playfully. "I'm sorry, Joey. I thought it was the table."

"I think you bruised me," Joey grumbled, screwing up his eyes and making a face.

"Better your leg than your head," Téa teased gently. "That's what I would have aimed for."

Strangers walking past the restaurant casually glanced in the window. They saw a blonde boy and a brown-haired boy attacking each other with bread sticks. A brunette girl and white-haired boy were holding up their hands, shielding their faces from bread crumbs while laughing. And sitting next to each other, obviously in love, a blonde girl and a boy with strange purple hair swung their arms around each other's necks and laughed at their friends. And the hearts of these strangers were touched, and they continued on their way with a smile.

The ties of friendship between these playful young people would never fade.

*~*~*

****

Notes: ::wipes forehead:: That's done. And that's sappy. Oh, well, I love fluff. ^_^

Thanks a ton to everyone who reviewed, and please let me know how this epilogue went! As for the sequel: T-T I don't know! If I ever decide to do it, it'll feature another… ahem, _unusual_ romance, so be prepared for that. And my old title for it was "The Bonds that Break" (stupid pun), although it may change. But as of now, I have no plans to work on it- but it can't hurt to keep an eye out!


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